Facial recognition technology proposed for trans-Tasman flights

By Tony Moore

In numbers

1.35 million - The numbers of Kiwis arriving in Australia in 2017

1.43
million - The number of Australians arriving in New Zealand

$24.5 billion - Trade between Australia and New Zealand

Better facial recognition technology has been proposed for airports to make it easier for passengers in airports of the future without compromising security, with Brisbane set to be the launchpad for the testing ground.

Brisbane Airport Corporation is the first Australian airport to trial additional facial recognition technology for the 2.7 million passengers each year between Australia and New Zealand.

Australia’s tourism think tank, the Tourist and Travel Forum, on Friday released a report into removing restrictions between future trans-Tasman flights.

That report recommends checking immigration clearance into Australia or New Zealand at the “departure” end of the trip, rather than at the arrival point, reducing the number of people waiting in queues.

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One proposed reform to achieve this is to install extra facial recognition points, rather than having people queueing to present their passports.

Brisbane Airport Corporation began to trial the advanced facial recognition technology in March.

“Known as ‘Face on the Fly’, this system would identify trans-Tasman passengers as they pass various points between baggage check-in and boarding their aircraft, without them needing to stop or produce passports, travel documents or even boarding passes,” Tourism and Transport Forum chief executive Margy Osmond said.

Ms Osmond said planners were aware that visitor numbers were increasing rapidly, but that did not mean extra airports would automatically be built.

“Instead we need to speed up passenger movement through our existing international terminals and the fastest and smartest way is to remove people from queues who don’t need to be there,” she said.

“The obvious place to start this reform is between Australia and New Zealand, two markets which deliver more visitors to each other than any other market.

“It is time the onerous and archaic constraints currently in place are relegated to the dustbin of history.”

Having immigration and entry clearances for Australian and New Zealand passengers already tracked and checked before the person arrives would allow faster and simpler departures at the other end of the flight, Ms Osmond said.

“Using information provided before departure this system would also enable the majority of passengers to collect their luggage from a ‘domestic-like’ reclaim area, and leave without further formalities,” she said.

Ms Osmond said the time, staffing and equipment saving at the arrival end of the flight would free up gates for international passengers from other countries.

Advanced facial recognition technology using biometric facial map are being trialled in Brisbane on Australia and New Zealand flights.Credit:Science Photo Library

The report believes this is possible without compromising security, although little detail is provided.

"Enhanced passenger information incorporating customs, biosecurity and health declarationswould provide border agencies with earlier advice, giving more time for assessment, leading to better quality decisions on clearance or intervention, than is presently possible with the passenger card process," the report says.

"Any ‘Yes’ response would trigger a ‘red flag’ to agencies and an instruction for passengers to select the Red channel on departure or arrival - including a flag on a paper or digital boarding pass."

BAC began trialling new facial recognition technology at Air New Zealand check-in counters in March.

The airport's strategic planning and development general manager Roel Hellemons said the technology could reshape air travelling

“This is a great opportunity for passengers to help shape the future of travel,” he said.

“This trial will allow us to test and refine new technology that we hope will make standard check-in and boarding processes more efficient and secure in the very near future.

“A key benefit is the technology integrates with our existing common-use infrastructure – our check-in kiosks and boarding gates – and can be used by any airline that operates on a common-use kiosk.”

In 1996, a single aviation market between Australia and New Zealand was put in place and trans-Tasman air traffic has tripled in the past 20 years to 47,000 flights each year.